My Creative Space...

Here we are again.

This week I finished my cat alphabet, which I titled Pypography (Piper the cat + typography). You can have a look at it here.

I have also been teaching myself how to knit. I have mastered the stocking stitch, single rib, double rib, moss stitch and the basket stitch. Though now I am trying to work out increasing and decreasing the stitches on a row.

I have been following the steps in this knitting and crochet book. I almost cannot wait until I can start my own project. I really would like to knit myself a small cardie. I will let you know how I go.

I am also spending some time on two children's stories which I am writing. I find that writing stories is a very different process for me to what I am used to when drawing. I think I am using different sections of the brain. So my approach to getting into the writing zone needs to be a lot more meditative than my usual mental creative space.

Check out other wonderful creative spaces being hosted at Kootoyoo.

So you want a revolution?

Okay, for all you revolutionary knitters out there I have a blog for you to check out. It is called...

Steal This Sweater

This blog is run by the radical, and intelligent Lisa Anne Auerbach.

Lisa Anne likes to design and knit wearable art that is making a statement. Her work can be seen to be political, and definitely thought provoking. 

Another site that you can also find Lisa Anne is at http://www.LisaAnneAuerbach.com/

Pypography

I only just finished creating this typography. It is based on photos of my pet cat, Piper. Hence the name Pypography.

Knitting into Finity

Here is one for knitters, and fans of the film "Coraline"...

When you were a child did you ever look at your dolls, toy cars, and doll houses and wonder what it would be like to walk around in the micro world. I sure did.  Well, Althea Crome is a woman who considered what it would be like to take normal, every day objects and scaling them down exactly into miniature.

Althea and her craft first came to my attention while reading Knit Knit. Since my teen years I have had a fascination for the art of miniatures so I was naturally curious to find out if Althea had a website, to look at more of her work.

Did you know that the collection of miniatures was initially a serious hobby for adults. That is, for those who had the financial means to do so. My understanding is that the crafting of miniatures was so specialized that it was an expensive hobby. Now today, it can still be expensive, but with the crafting renaissance, and more people going DIY, miniature collecting need not be for an exclusive club.

I highly recommend you check out Althea's website at: http://www.bugknits.com/

:: I'm Coveting ::

This entry is a  response to Meet Me At Mike's "Let's Play Tuesday".

I'm Coveting...

• An authentic SHAG print.
• Loobylu plush bunny.
• Willow china (it reminds me of my Nanna).
• Digital SLR.
• My Dad's homemade Pecan Pie.

The Beret Is On

Is your head feeling just a bit cold and exposed when you step outside this winter?

Well if so, no longer will you need to freeze your cute lil head off. There is a fabulous, free pattern for crocheting a beret over here.

This beret is designed and presented by the Mysterious M of Melbourne. Check out her whole blog over at http://emmstarr.blogspot.com/

Pahr-Tee at the 321

Lat night my lil family headed out in style over to Fitzroy where there was a lovely soiree, which we had been invited to. It was at in.cub8r Gallery and the party was to celebrate the Second Birthday of both in.cub8r Gallery and MixTape.

Although we couldn't stay more than half an hour (it was baby's first big night out) a lovely time was had, and there was so much 'wonderful' to see. The walls and display cases were filled with papercrafts, ornaments, jewellery, wall poster art and indie fashion. I just wanted to buy a little something of everything.

Before heading back home I bought a couple of books from the gallery:

• Issue 9 of Mixtape zine
• Handmade Nation

Winners of my first Giveaway!!

The big moment has finally arrived.

The two winners of my first giveaway are as follows [drum roll please]...

Nicola! and Thea!!

Congratulations ladies you have each won yourselves a very special Hoo Owl. Please email me your mailing address so I can send you your prize. My email address is ml_gaggiano@yahoo.com.au

Have a great weekend everyone! And thank you to everyone who joined in.

I Made This

One afternoon when I was a little girl, maybe about age seven, I raided a massive craft basket. From stocking, buttons, glue, filler and felt this armless doll came into being. I had so much fun making that doll.

To find out why I blogged about this doll, follow this link back to Meet Me At Mike's.

Not A Half Shabby Giveaway

Check out this fantastic giveaway being hosted by Designs by Vanessa.

The giveaway is on behalf of a deliciously sophisticated label known as Shabby Apple.

So head on over to Vanessa's blog and find out what the requirements are for entry into this giveaway.

My Creative Space...

Well, as mentioned in an earlier post, I completed sewing up my Alice Cullen-esque dress. Follow this link to see the dress.

This week I am also hosting my first ever giveaway. Do check it out at this link. As an added incentive, I'll just say that it is all about owls. Need I say more.

I joined 1 Million Women in a bid to lower my own carbon footprint. This in itself will be an ongoing creative project.

I have taken a greater interest in knitting and crochet, so my next big thing on this front is simply practicing the various techniques. Then I am thinking of attempting to make a teeny cardigan to go with my Alice Cullen dress.

I also have a lot of thoughts shuffling around in my head of potential drawing projects. I'll need to document these in my sketch book just so I can sort through it all. One idea I am playing with (actually an old idea of mine) is drawing a cat alphabet. The concept came from my own cat who likes to pose and sleep in some amazing back bending positions. And I thought that I could create new typography based on that. Maybe.

Head on over to Kootoyoo to see more fantastic creative spaces.

An Education

There is a gorgeous new movie coming out titled "An Education" starring a darling actress, Carey Mulligan who has become an instant favorite of mine. See here the trailer for "An Education".

Carey has also appeared in the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice as Kitty Bennett, and in Bleak House as Ada Clare. She came to my notice last year when watching an episode of Dr Who, (titled "Blink") in which she played Sally Sparrow. This episode is now on my list of most memorable stories. See here a snippet from that episode

I Made It!

I have reason to celebrate right now. I finished sewing my Alice Cullen inspired dress. It took me just under one week. Now I just need to make myself a little black cardie to keep my arms and shoulders warm.

Knit Knit

I highly recommend you borrow this book from the library... Knit Knit written by Sabrina Gschwandtner.

It is filled with profiles and designs of some truly radical domestic knitters. I have been reading this book and it has inspired me to pull out my own knitting needles and practice knitting and even some crochet.

1 Million Women

Just this morning I discovered 1 Million Women through Handmade Romance. 1 Million Women is an organisation encouraging women to take steps toward a greener planet, essentially lowering our carbon footprint.

As someone who has already taking small steps to recycle I wish to do more. By joining 1 Million Women I am pledging myself to make an effort for our small planet. The website helps you keep track of your goals which you can update once a month. It shall be interesting to see how well I go with my goals.

Check out the website for 1 Million Women...

http://www.1millionwomen.com.au/

Emjie's First Ever Giveaway

I am pleased to announce that I am hosting my first ever giveaway. I felt that after being the lucky winner of so many other wonderful giveaways, it is now time for me to give something back.

Earlier this year I designed a plush toy aptly named Hoo Owl. Hoo Owl is made of felt, and lovely contrasting printed fabrics. I can easily say the Hoo Owl design is one of my proudest achievements for 2009.

So the giveaway is this... I have two Hoo Owl toys that are looking for a new home to nest in. To go into the draw you can do one or all of the following (if you do all of the below steps you triple your chances of winning the draw):

1. Leave a comment, describing Hoo Owl's dream nest.
2. Become a Follower of my blog (anyone already following my blog will automatically go into the draw as well).
3. Do a write up about this giveaway in your own blog, linking back to this entry (and let me know that you have done so).

Anyone can enter this giveaway, even if you are living outside of Australia. I will announce the two winners of this giveaway this coming Saturday (25th July 2009).

So to quote Gwen Stefani, "What you waiting for?"

Optimus Prime

This here cover art is something that I made for my cousin's Birthday card.

The colours blue and red always look so amazing together, don't you think?

I Found It!

As some of you are aware, I plan to sew my own Alice Cullen dress since the original version costs about $500 (Ouch! That burns.)

Now initially I was going to try and do my own pattern making, then I thought I would have a look through patterns that I already had to see if I had a similar pattern that I could work with. There wasn't anything on hand of course.

So yesterday I visited Lincraft and found just the right pattern to make my Alice dress. It is a McCall's M5623. So this afternoon I shall begin cutting the pattern pieces. There will still need to be some alteration if I plan to have the frilly trim at the bottom of the Alice dress. But I'll think about it.

My Creative Space...

Is it that part of the week already??? Wow! A whole week passed and it was barely a heart beat. So it is safe to say that my priorties of last week are still the same as this week.

I plan on making an Alice Cullen dress, and have been gathering pattern pieces that are similar so that I don't have to do the pattern making completely from scratch. You know that saying, 'not having to reinvent the wheel'.

What else has been going on this week? Good question. When your memory is bested by that of a goldfish you know that it is time to put the kettle on and prepare an Earl Grey tea. So hold on a sec while I go do that...

Ahhh! That is better. I can feel the neurons in my brain waking up. So where was I?

This week I have been watching "The Lake House" and it got me thinking about letter writing. When I was a child I enjoyed letter writing, and particularly receiving mail. And i still do, but it is a rare thing these days if you do not have a designated pen pal. I do not really know where this is all leading to, but I feel like doing some sort of letter writing project and incorporate it with my art. I'll think about this idea some more.

To see other Creative Spaces check out Kootoyoo's blog via this link.

Brainiac

Here is another typographical experiment that I also just whipped up in Photoshop. Hopefully you can see what I am trying to achieve.

Shag Pile

This Photoshop work is a typographic experient of mine that I just whipped up.

The Top Ten Toys

When I was a little girl (in the eighties!) I loved, loved, loved my toys and tried very hard to take good care of them. I would go through phases of which toy was my favorite, but at the end of the day I think they all got equal time.

I even have memories of taking new toys to bed with me. Once my eyes adjusted to the light I would just start playing with my toy. I never was one for shutting down at night. No! No! Bedtime for me equalled thinking time.

So here is a list of the top ten toys from my childhood:

1. Jem paperdoll book (From Jem & the Holograms - this kept be amused until I was able to have a three dimensional version)

2. Chuckles (GI Joe - embracing my inner tomboy)

3. Strawberry Shortcake

4. Rocker Barbie (Of Barbie & the Rockers)

5. Elkie (Hot Looks doll)

6. Sparkler (My Little Pony)

7. Grasshopper (RC car - again embracing my inner tomboy)

8. Charlotte Garry (Cabbage Patch Kids doll - my adopted daughter)

9. Glow in the Dark Barbie (She glowed! Well actually it was her clothes, but still, very cool.)

10. Crystal Barbie (My first ever Barbie!)

Have a Cow!

Seriously do have a cow. Or if you wanted one, how about a pig.

I just stumbled across a free Burda pattern for felt hand puppets, as pictured above. To get your hands on the patterns for these gorgeous little animals simply follow this link. You will need to register with Burda, which is exactly what I did and it was totally worth it just to get these puppet patterns.

Now, get out there and check it out!

Who Could It Be Now?

Recently a relative gave birth to a baby girl... this being her second baby. To celebrate I made a congratulations card, with a matching envelope, which you can see details of below.

I put in just that bit more detail by having the pregnant cartoon figure standing off the page for a three dimensional effect.

Pay It Forward

Okay, following is a "Pay It Forward" game that I am going to get on to the band wagon of. I came across this concept from reading Thea's Thea & Sami blog. So here it is...

I am entering into the following contract with the first 5 people who comment on this post and then commit to do the same on their blog. Just read below and if you feel up to the task copy the following into your blog and leave me a comment. I am willing to post overseas (I am in Australia, but remember you must commit on your blog to do the same to others).

1.  I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. Whatcha get is whatcha get.
2.  What I create will be just for you, with love.
3.  It’ll be done this year (2009).
4.  I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. Or it may be monstrous and annoying. Heck, I might bake something for you and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!
5.  I reserve the right to do something strange.
6.  In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post.
7.  Send your mailing address - after I contact you.

Welcome to everyone. I will however, make an effort to do something that you like based on what I see on your blog, BUT there are no guarantees.

 If you want to pay it forward, please comment.

My First

This is the first animation that I have created in the Flash program. This is a basic piece and was created purely so that I could grasp the basic tools of Flash. 

Do enjoy!

Photo Doctor

In my last blog entry I mentioned an old photo that I had been fixing up. I promised to show you a 'before' and 'after' when I completed the personal project. So here are the before and after photos...

Before...

After...

My Creative Space...

Life inside a kaleidoscope

Okay! So here's the thing... I haven't been blogging a whole lot lately. I have been in that vague space between projects. Also lately I had been spending way too much time following blogs... like as in... all day. So I really needed a timeout. Also I didn't really feel that I had anything of interest to contribute, hence the radio silence.

Now that I am back on the train let me tell you/show you what I have been up and what I would really love to do in the future.

Since May this year I have been fixing up two old photographs which had been taken over fifty years ago. The photos are of my mother in law and her folks. I am now at the stage of almost feeling that I can stop doctoring the photo in Photoshop. When I am satisfied with the result I'll show a before and after. So stay tuned for this one.

• This past week I have been doing a makeover of myself, taking inspiration from Alice Cullen of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. I started with a haircut.
  

• I then found some items that could easily belong in Alice Cullen's wardrobe.
  

• I tried to find a similar dress that Alice wears in the promotional photos from the first film, of course to no avail. So I decided that I would try to make the dress myself. I bought some grey/silver fabric which I will have a go at.
  

• I also would like to knit/crochet my own version of the white jacket that Alice wears in the cafeteria scene in Twilight, which is simply a delight.

I am also making production notes and preparing to make an animation short in Flash. This will be my first real attempt at a proper little animation, so I cannot say if this project will even get off the ground. Here's hoping though.